


In A Single Moment, Everything Can Change

by mykkila09



Series: Everything Changes [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: AU, Canon Retelling, Character Death, Complete, M/M, Romance, Trio Break-up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-26
Updated: 2012-06-26
Packaged: 2017-11-08 15:46:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/444805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mykkila09/pseuds/mykkila09
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Due to unfortunate and unforeseen circumstances, the lives of the Golden Trio, and everyone close to them--allies and enemies alike--are changed irrevocably</p>
            </blockquote>





	In A Single Moment, Everything Can Change

**Author's Note:**

> **A/N **: I got this idea after watching DH parts one and two; there were a few scenes that stood out to me and the first part of this story was one of them and I just had to write it...so...enjoy...****
> 
> **Disclaimer **: Harry Potter and all its affiliates belong to JK Rowling, Bloomsbury/Scholastic and Warner Bros. Studios. No copyright or trademark infringement is intended and no money is being made from this.****

_It is always wise to not only think before you speak, but to be careful about what you say, for the words, once they are out there, can never be unspoken and the consequences will resonate farther than expected ___

Ron’s words hung in the air and the silence that followed, while normally comfortable and sometimes welcoming with the three of them, was now deafening. 

The moment the words left his mouth, Ron regretted them. He knew that it was a low blow, saying what he did about Harry’s family, but he couldn’t help how he felt. He was just angry; at Harry, at their situation, even at Dumbledore. The words were out though, and he couldn’t take it back. And a part of him didn’t want to.

Hermione turned wide eyes, filled with horror and disbelief, on Ron. His words cut through her as she never thought that he would’ve ever said something so callous and hurtful. She knew that their situation wasn’t ideal, but she had believed that as long as they stood united, they would get through it. But now, that seemed impossible; if she could feel the pain and anger from Ron’s words, she had no doubt as to how Harry was feeling. Her brown eyes shifted over from the redhead to her best friend and she let out a soft gasp when she saw his expression.

Harry stared at Ron. His green eyes were wide with shock and pain as he couldn’t believe what the redhead had just said. Never did he expect that Ron would throw the fact that he had a family and he Harry didn’t have one, back in Harry’s face and the pain had him reeling. As his green eyes bored into Ron’s blue ones, memories flew through his mind; their first meeting, their first adventure, everything they’ve been through up until now. It all crashed through his mind. 

Resolutely, he pushed the memories away and the shock and pain soon faded away as anger slowly replaced it. His green eyes darkened, his hands clenching his wand so tight that his knuckles were turning white. He could feel his magic rising to the forefront desperate to lash out at the one causing him pain. Ron had gone too far.

“Thank you Ronald for that wonderful reminder of the nonexistence of my family,” Harry spoke through gritted teeth as he tried to control his magic. “Of course we can’t all have a family like the Weasleys, now can we? I am sorry that this isn’t up to your standards. Perhaps you thought that this would be all sunshine and daises or that it would come very easy to us.”

Neither Hermione nor Ron had ever heard Harry speak that way before and it scared them.

“In case you hadn’t noticed,” Harry continued, his eyes holding Ron’s captive, “you’re not the only one having problems. You think I want us to go through with this the way we are or the way we have? No I don’t, but we have no choice. Dumbledore told us, told me, nothing more than what you know; he didn’t give me any clear clues or any valid idea as to what to do.” 

His voice deepened from the emotions running through him. He didn’t raise it, and somehow, that made everything worse. “You seem to think that I have all the answers or maybe he told me more, but he didn’t. All he gave me was a vague sense of what to do, so if you didn’t realize it, I’m just as fucking lost as you!”

Harry never swore, ever, so the fact that he did made the two flinch and Ron swallowed back the fear rising in him.

“I never asked you to come,” Harry continued, his breathing becoming heavy as his control slipped, “in fact, I specifically asked you not to, but you insisted and because things aren’t going as easy as you thought, because you can’t handle not having four and five meals a day or a warm bed to sleep in or a shower as often as you liked or just lounging around doing nothing you think it’s ok to dump it all on it me? I’m not a fucking God! I don’t have all the answers and I wish you would see that.” 

Harry closed his eyes, hoping the rage would dissipate quickly. When he had regained some of his control, he reopened them. “So, since you can’t handle the fact that things will not go your way and that you may actually have to deal with not having a big meal all the time or me not knowing everything, then just go. Go back to your family, like you so desperately want to.”

Ron stared at Harry. Never, in the almost seven years they’ve known each other, had he heard him say so much. A part of him knew that Harry was right, but his pride and his anger wouldn’t let him listen. His anger fuelling him, he glared at Harry. “Fine!”

“Leave the locket,” Harry said coldly.

“You can have it,” Ron snarled as he grabbed the locket and threw at Harry. He then turned to Hermione. “Are you coming?”

Harry caught the locket and then turned away when he heard Ron’s question. He didn’t expect Hermione to stay, so he didn’t want to see the look on her face when she decided to leave as well.

_‘It doesn’t matter,’ _Harry thought furiously, _‘before this even started, I told them I could do it by myself. They dragged themselves along. It just goes to show what I learned at the Dursleys was right; I can only depend on myself. Everyone leaves me eventually.’ _____

Hermione was torn; a part of her, the part that really liked Ron and could maybe even love him, wanted to go with him, but the bigger part of her was telling her to stick by the one who had been her first friend, the one who first risked his life to save hers. From her first year, after Harry and Ron had saved her from the Troll, she had vowed to be their friend and to always be on their side. But it was in fourth year when her loyalties had shifted from both to mainly Harry.

Her head was telling her to go with Ron, but her heart, her heart was telling her to stay. She closed her eyes, not only to fight the sadness, but to brace herself for the reaction her answer would give. Either way, one of them would be hurt. She opened her eyes and looked between the two.

“Ron,” she started, “we promised Harry we’d help him. We can’t just leave.”

“So you’re staying?” Ron looked at his girlfriend in disbelief. He had expected her to choose him over Harry. _‘Once again, Harry bloody Potter gets everything and I get nothing.’ ___

“Yes,” Hermione near whispered, “I’m staying. I’m sorry Ron, but I promised to help him and I have to. Harry can’t do this by himself; he needs my help.”

Ron shook his head and took a step back. “Fine then, stay!” with one last glare, Ron turned around and took off out of the tent.

Hermione let out a gasp. She stood frozen for a few seconds before she took off after him. “Ron? Ron!” 

Harry heard her leave and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t stifle the grief and sorrow that engulfed him. While he was used to Ron turning his back on him, Hermione had always been there; she’d always been the one person he could count on to always be there for him. Not matter what he said about doing things on his own, he knew deep down, he had wanted her to stay.

_‘It’s just as well,’ _Harry thought, _‘at least this way, she’ll be safe. It’s just me again, just like I always knew it would be.’ _____

Minutes later, Hermione came back in, tears streaming down her face. “He’s gone! He’s disapparated!”

Harry whirled around to face her so fast, he absently thought he’d be whiplashed; his green eyes wide with shock and hope. “Y-you didn’t leave?”

Immediately, all thoughts of Ron left Hermione’s mind as she took in the words and expression on Harry’s face. She saw the hope and the shock and disbelief that she was actually there. _‘He expected me to follow Ron. He didn’t expect me to come back. Damn you Ron!’ ___

Wiping her tears, Hermione hurried over to Harry’s side and threw her arms around his neck. “Oh Harry. I promised you I would help you and I will. You’re my best friend; I’m not going to let you go through this alone.”

Harry cautiously wrapped his arms around, slowly tightening his grip until he was holding her to him tightly, “But what about Ron? I know how you feel about him ‘Mione. It’s got to be tearing you apart to go against him like this. I-I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to go.”

Hermione pulled back from the hug and framed Harry’s face in her hands to look into his eyes. “Yes it is tearing me apart. My head is telling me to go after him because I have feelings for him.”

Harry looked away as her words sent guilt through him. Whatever problems he had with Ron, he never wanted Hermione to bear the brunt of it.

Hermione smiled, despite the sorrow she was feeling. She knew Harry better than anyone and so she knew exactly what he was thinking. Moving one of her hands to grab his chin, she gently turned his face back to hers. “But my heart is telling to stay and help you. My mother always told me to listen to my heart for it will never lead me wrong and she’s right. You are my best friend Harry, and yes, it hurts that Ron left us, left me, but I am not leaving you. We are going to do this and we’re going to do it together.”

Green met brown and memories assaulted both as they remembered the last time they had been on their own; back in third year when they had used the Time Turner, in fourth year with the Tri-Wizard Tournament and again this year when Ron had spent most of his time with Lavender. They both smiled as they reassured each other and at the reaffirmation of their friendship.

“Alright,” Harry said at last, breaking the silence. A smile teased at his lips and he let it build into a small one.

“Alright,” Hermione smiled back. She would think about Ron later, but right now, she would focus on Harry and their task.

~…~

It’s been two weeks since Ron had left and things were still the same as the first night. Even though they were together, the two spent most of the time apart. Hermione spent the nights crying out her grief over Ron’s leaving, while Harry spent it quiet, thinking over everything that had happened to him ever since he entered Hogwarts, his friendship with Ron being at the forefront. 

He jerked out of his thoughts to hear Hermione crying, just like she had done every so often the last few weeks. His anger at Ron renewed for the pain he was putting Hermione through. Getting an idea, and wanting to make her feel better, Harry got up and went to the radio. Grabbing his wand, he pointed it at the radio and a song came out the speakers. Smiling, he walked over to Hermione and held out his hand.

“Harry,” Hermione looked up at the outstretched hand in confusion, her brown eyes red from crying.

“Come on,” Harry cajoled. He leaned down and grabbed her hand, pulling her to her feet. Placing one of her hands on his shoulder, he held the other in his free hand and then, he started moving across the floor of the tent in a simple waltz.

Hermione let out a teary chuckle as Harry spun her and soon enough, she found her tears lessening as she enjoyed herself. As they danced across the room, for that moment, all the stress and pressure of their task and what was happening in the world faded away until it was only the two of them. 

As she looked into Harry’s green eyes, Hermione felt delight blossom inside her at the joy in the green orbs. For a time now, every time she looked into the green orbs, all she would see would see despair, or anger, but never such an unrestrained joy. And she revelled in it.

After a while, the song died out and their dance slowed down. The smiles left their faces as their movements stopped. 

Harry moved his hand to tuck some hair behind her ear. “Are you ok?”

Hermione bit her lip, “Not really. I’m angry and hurt over Ron leaving.”

“I know,” Harry nodded. He looked away briefly before looking back at her. “Can I talk to you about something?”

“Harry you know can talk to me about anything,” Hermione told him.

“It’s about Ron,” Harry said and he almost regretted his words when he saw and felt the way she tensed. She tried to pull away, but he didn’t let her. “Please?”

Hermione looked at him. “Alright, fine. What is it you want to talk about?”

“Come here,” Harry led them over to the bed and sat down, turning to face her. “I know you’ve been crying and hurting the last two weeks.”

“Harry,” Hermione interrupted, “It’s ok. I know you. And I know you’re not very comfortable with comforting someone, especially a crying girl.”

“No,” Harry shook his head, “that’s not it. I was uh, I was thinking actually.”

“About?” Hermione questioned, curious as to what had been going through her best friend’s mind.

“Everything,” Harry admitted with a sigh, “I was thinking about the last five years—well six if you include the last year—and us, me, you and Ron, and I realized something.”

“What?” Hermione asked.

“Hermione,” Harry started and then he stopped. He knew that what he was about to tell her would be hard for to her to hear, but he needed. Despite what happened between him and Ron, he didn’t want to believe that their entire friendship had been a lie, but he just couldn’t ignore the facts. Hopefully though, with Hermione’s help, he could understand them better.

“Harry,” Hermione reached out and grabbed Harry’s free hand so that she was holding both his hands in hers. “You know that you can tell me anything.”

“I know,” Harry nodded, “I’m just not sure how you’re going to react to this.”

“Just tell me,” Hermione said.

“Ok,” Harry sighed, “can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” Hermione nodded. “Anything.”

“Why exactly do you love Ron?” Harry asked looking directly into her eyes.

“What?” Hermione was shocked and confused. That was the last thing she expected Harry to ask her. “Why are you asking me that?”

“Why do you love Ron?” Harry repeated, “’Mione, I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important.”

“I,” Hermione bit her lip, “I just do. How does anyone know why they love someone? I get jealous whenever I see him talking to another girl. I get flustered whenever he’s near. He just, he makes me feel different. I just love him, the same you love Ginny.”

“But I don’t,” Harry said, his green eyes serious, “I don’t love Ginny.”

“What?” Hermione looked at him with wide eyes. “Harry, yes you do.”

“No I don’t,” Harry shook his head, “but right now, I’m not talking about me and Ginny. Hermione, I’ve thought long and hard about this and it really puzzles me. How can you love Ron after the way he’s treated you?”

“Harry,” Hermione pulled her hands from his and stood up. She was starting to get angry with him for what he was saying.

“No listen to me,” Harry stood up after her. “From the moment you met, Ron’s been nothing but mean to you. He was so mean that he made you cry and you ended up the bathroom where a troll could’ve killed you.”

“But it didn’t,” Hermione said, “and we were kids. Besides, you and Ron saved my life and that’s the moment I figured he wasn’t as bad as I had initially thought he was.”

“He didn’t even want to!” Harry snapped at her. 

“What?” the word escaped on a hurt filled gasp and Hermione took a step backwards.

Harry sighed and walked over to her. “After Quirrell burst into the Great Hall that Halloween to tell us about the troll, when we were heading to our dormitories, I realized you didn’t know. I told Ron about it and he looked at me with a confused and whatever expression. He didn’t want to go. I practically had to drag him with me.”

Hermione had to stifle the hurt that flared up at his words. Back then, she had been so surprised and pleased when she had seen the two boys in the bathroom that horrible night. From that moment on, the three of them had become friends and she had vowed to give Ron a chance at being friends due to the fact that he had helped save her life. And now, Harry was telling her Ron hadn’t even wanted to. It hurt to hear, but she ignored it. Things were different now, and she told him so.

“We’ve changed Harry,” Hermione said at last, “we’ve grown up since then. We’re not the same kids we were then.”

“Our bodies may have changed ‘Mione,” Harry said, “but we’re still the same. You’re still the same girl that loved to read and to know everything, the same girl that can memorize books and recite them back to you, the same girl that was and still is the brightest witch of her age.”

Hermione smiled at his words. Coming from anyone else they would’ve sounded like an insult, but coming from Harry, they sounded so honest and just so…so Harry.

“Me, I’m still the same kid that doesn’t know a lot about the Wizarding World,” Harry continued, “that tries to do the right thing and is still a bit lost when it comes to almost everything, but will stand up for what is right and defend his friends. And Ron, Ron is still the same jerk he’s always been, we just never saw it.”

“How can you say that about him?” Hermione asked, aghast at Harry’s description.

“Because it’s true,” Harry said, his voice was tinged with slight desperation as he needed her to listen to what he was saying, “Hermione, from since first year, all Ron has done is made you cry and not once has he ever apologized for it. He mocks and ridicules you for being a genius and then he still turns around and asks for your help with homework. And if you refuse to help him, he ridicules you even more. Do you know how often I’ve heard you cry after Ron’s mouth gets the better of him? Does fourth year ring a bell?”

Hermione looked away as the painful memory hit her. She had been so excited to be invited to the ball, and by Viktor Krum of all people. Viktor had told her how beautiful she had looked, and while she had seen the awe and surprise on her schoolmates’ faces, it hadn’t compared to what Harry and Ron had thought. They were her best friends and she had valued their opinion above everyone else’s. While Harry had told her he had never seen her look more beautiful and happy, Ron instead had gone off on her, telling how she had been a traitor because she was fraternizing with the enemy and from that point on, the night had spiralled. Instead of it being the happiest night of her life, Ron had ruined it. 

Harry gently grabbed her chin, turning her face towards him. He used his thumbs to wipe the tears that had spilled over onto her cheek. “I’m sorry for bringing up that memory because I know how painful it is for you. I just want you to listen and to think.”

The action touched her and she couldn’t help but to think that Ron had never done anything like this for her.

“This past year was one of the worst,” Harry continued, “not only because we lost Dumbledore and all the trouble with the Death Eaters, but because I watched the strongest person I know break down for the second time in my life.”

Hermione closed her eyes as she remembered the way she had felt when she had seen Ron and Lavender making out on the couch. It had hurt her so much, more than anything else had. 

“And I can’t help but to think that Ron doesn’t deserve you,” Harry searched her eyes, wanting to know if he was getting through to her. He could see she still had her reservations, but he could also see what he was saying had taken root. “’Mione, you are so smart and so beautiful and so incredibly talented. You deserve someone that’s going to appreciate all that about you and appreciate you as well. You deserve someone that’s not going to make you cry, but if they did, they wouldn’t be afraid to say ‘I’m sorry’. Do you know what I learned throughout my entire childhood? Verbal abuse is only one step away from physical abuse.”

“But Ron would never do that,” Hermione protested even as she tried to stop her emotions from overwhelming her. Never in her life had she ever heard anyone say something so incredibly beautiful about her. All her life, all she ever wanted was exactly what Harry had just told her, but she had fallen for Ron…hadn’t she?

“Trust me when I say that I know better than anyone how verbal abuse quickly becomes physical,” Harry said, remembering his childhood and his uncle. Vernon had verbally abused him for years until it escalated and became physical. It was only when he had gotten his Hogwarts letter did the physical abuse stop, but the verbal abuse continued. 

Hermione stared at him as his words struck her. She didn’t know the true extent of his life with his family, but what little she did know told her that her best friend’s home life was far from ideal or normal. She knew from reports from Ron, and how they had found Harry with bars on his window in second year, and from what she had gathered from observing Harry, that he had been treated horribly by his relatives, but this was the first time she had ever actually gotten something close to true confirmation from the source itself. 

Harry sighed and led Hermione to sit back on the bed. “’Mione, you are the most important person in my life. I trust you above everyone else. You’re like a sister to me. If I could make it so that you would go through this war without being hurt, I would. All I want is for you to be free and happy, really happy, and I don’t think Ron can make you happy. He’s made you cry too many times to count. You’re my best friend and I just want what’s best for you.”

Hermione flushed at his words. She always knew he cared about, but she hadn’t known she was that important to him. Clearing her throat, she said, “I thought Ron was your best friend?”

“He’s my first friend,” Harry clarified, “but not my best friend. You are. I can talk to you about anything. We can even sit in silence and it wouldn’t bother me. I feel more comfortable around you than I do around Ron. Did you know you were the first person to ever touch me without anger? You were the first person to hug me and you were also the first person to kiss me.” He grinned, “Granted it was a kiss on my cheek, but still.”

“I didn’t know that,” Hermione said softly, but when she thought about it, she realized she should’ve known. Harry shied away from any touches, except for when it came to her. He never refused her touches, but he always did everyone else’s. Sirius had been the only other exception.

“Do you know what else I realized? The real reason why Ron isn’t best friend, but you are,” Harry asked.

“No,” Hermione shook her head, “What did you realize?”

“The real reason you’re my best friend and not Ron is because in all the time we’ve known each other,” Harry continued, “You’ve never, not once, ever been jealous of me. You’ve always supported me and more importantly, you’ve always seen me as Harry and not as the Saviour of the Wizarding World or the bloody Boy-Who-Lived.”

“You know Ron doesn’t see you that way,” Hermione protested.

“Yes he does,” Harry said sadly. “Do you remember in first year, when Dumbledore gave me the Invisibility Cloak that Christmas?”

“Yes,” Hermione nodded. She had gone home that Christmas, but when she had come back from break, she had been told about the Cloak.

“That was also the first year I ever got presents, real presents,” Harry said, “do you know what Ron said when I told him I got gifts from his mother? He told me that he had told his mum don’t bother sending me anything because I wouldn’t need it. At the time I thought it was an odd thing for him to say, but I didn’t pay any attention. When I revealed the Cloak, I had no idea what it was, but Ron did, and the look on his face; it was pure jealousy. If the looks weren’t enough, he kept repeating how he would do anything for one. 

“Second year, when everyone was scared and turned on me because it became known that I could speak to snakes, that I was a Parselmouth like him. Ron stayed my friend, but I could see it in his eyes; he was scared of me too and I could see just a little betrayal as well, like it was somehow my fault. It was almost as if he was angry because I shouldn’t have had that power. You ‘Mione were the only one not scared or angry or anything. As far as you were concerned, I was still Harry, but I had an extra gift.

“In third year, we met Remus and all the drama with Sirius happened. I remember how Ron treated you because he thought Crookshanks had eaten Scabbers. But you know what stuck out to me that year, when Ron found out that Remus was a werewolf. I saw the condemnation in his eyes that night. After everything that had happened, when I told you guys that Remus had quit, I saw how relieved he had been. And I didn’t get it then, but I get it now; Ron, no matter how hard he tried not to be, was still affected by the purebloods thoughts on equality among wizards and creatures, that creatures like Remus were below them.”

“Harry,” Hermione started to speak, to cut him off. She had never heard her best friend like this; never had she heard him say so much before.

“Let me finish or I’ll never get it out,” Harry stopped her. “Fourth year was the worst,” he dropped her hands, stood up and started pacing. “The whole mess with the Tri-Wizard Tournament, all that crap with Ron and losing Cedric, it was a really bad year.”

“I know,” Hermione whispered as she watched him.

“Even before the tournament,” Harry told her, “Ron had been acting weird and then the tournament happened. The fact that Ron didn’t believe me, that he would throw away our friendship, it hurt a lot more than I let on. The night my name came out, Ron accused me of cheating and he asked if I didn’t have enough fame as the Boy-Who-Lived. Even what happened a few days ago; he expected me to know exactly what to do. But I don’t.”

“I know you don’t,” Hermione stood up and walked over to him. She grabbed his arm to stop him from pacing. “Harry.”

“Hermione,” Harry sighed, “This is the second time that Ron has abandoned me. I forgave him fourth year, but I never expected him to do it again. And this time, I can’t forgive him. He left us Hermione, we’re in the middle of a war, we should be sticking together and he left us and all because things got tough.”

She sighed. “Harry, what you’re saying. It’s not that I don’t want to listen or to believe you, it’s just that—

“It’s hard to hear,” Harry cut her off, “I know Hermione, I do. I’ve had two weeks to really think things over. Ron’s actions that day in the tent, it just brought everything up and instead of dismissing it, I found myself thinking about everything. I know it’s hard to hear, but please, don’t dismiss what I’m saying. Just think about everything.”

Hermione looked into his eyes, searching. After a while, she sighed, “Ok. I’m not making any promises, but I’ll think about it.”

“Thank you,” Harry nodded. 

“Why did you say you weren’t in love with Ginny?” Hermione asked. It’s been bugging her since he said it the first time. 

“Because I’m not,” Harry told her. “If someone told you that I wouldn’t be happy unless I was fighting him, what would you say?”

“I’d look at them like they were crazy and ask them if they’re mad,” Hermione replied, “Harry, anyone who knows you knows you’d rather be living a normal life like everyone else.”

“Exactly,” Harry said, “only someone who doesn’t know me and who sees me as the Saviour would say something like that, wouldn’t you think?”

“Yeah,” Hermione nodded. Seconds later, her eyes widened with disbelief, “wait, Harry, are you saying that Ginny told you that?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” Harry told her, “the day of Dumbledore’s funeral, when I broke up with her, I told her my life would be complicated and dangerous, and she told me she knew I wouldn’t be happy unless I was fighting him.”

“That’s ridiculous!” Hermione protested, “Harry, if you could’ve gone through life without having to fight him, then you would be the happiest person on Earth. I can’t believe Ginny would say something like that.”

“Well she did,” Harry sighed, “being on this quest, being away from her, made me realize that I don’t love her. In the years that we’ve known each other, Ginny and I have barely spoken to each other. I don’t even think   
we’ve ever had a complete conversation before. I know nothing about her and she knows nothing about me.”

“Then why did you date her?” Hermione asked, “and why were you so jealous whenever you saw her with another guy?”

“Ginny kissed me in front of the entire common room,” Harry explained, “as much as I wanted to, I couldn’t embarrass her in front of everyone, so we left. The only reason I stayed with her was because it was what everyone expected and to be honest, at the time, all I wanted was to have a sense of normalcy. Whenever we kissed, it felt so weird and so wrong. I have always thought of the Weasleys as my family; of Ron and Fred and George as older brothers, Molly and Arthur as my second set of parents, so by that reasoning, wouldn’t Ginny be my sister as well? And even if I did think of her as family, I couldn’t be with her anyways because she sees me as the Boy-Who-Lived. Do you know she’s been in love with me since she was ten?”

“But,” Hermione swallowed, “you met her when she was eleven.”

“Exactly,” Harry nodded, “I don’t think I was jealous like a lover. I think it was like a brother, but I passed it off as being a jealous person who’s interested in her. I can’t be with her. Hermione, please, just think about everything I said. I’m not going back to Ginny and I honestly don’t think you should go back with Ron. How often has he left or hurt us and we forgave him for it? How often has he apologized for his actions?”

Hermione looked away. 

Harry sighed as he walked away from her and over to his bed. “Why don’t we get some sleep and start early tomorrow?”

“Alright,” Hermione agreed. She headed over to her bed. Her mind was whirling with everything Harry had just told her. She felt torn because while a part of her was angry and protested his words, the other half agreed with it all. She knew that she had a lot to think about and she was determined to do just that.

Harry watched her go with somewhat sad eyes. He knew that what he had told her was a kinda harsh, but he truly felt as if she should’ve heard it. He understood though why she would be so reluctant; even he had had a hard coming to terms with it, but eventually, he had. He just hoped she did as well.

~…~

Two more weeks passed since that night. The time had been spent with Harry and Hermione keeping mostly to themselves.

Hermione for her part had been thinking and thinking about everything that Harry had said. The first few days, she had rejected everything and had pushed it out of her mind. But the thoughts had persisted until she could do nothing but actually think about it. The day that Harry had figured out how to open the snitch, she had been thinking about Ron and what Harry had said about the red head being mean and verbally abusive. That day, she had realized that he was right.

It had been a hard thing to come to terms with as she felt so strongly for Ron. She had immediately scolded herself for agreeing with Harry, but then, memories—the ones Harry had brought up and more—had pushed themselves to the forefront of her mind and she couldn’t ignore it anymore. She had finally had to concede that Harry was right. Ron treated her like crap and she had allowed him to do so.

_‘I have to talk to Harry,’ _Hermione sighed and she threw a look to where her friend was sitting.__

~…~

Harry sighed as he turned to lay on his side, his back to Hermione. The last two weeks had been quiet between them. He knew that Hermione was going over everything he had told her, so he had left her alone, unless it was important. He wanted her to realize the same things he did because he wanted her on his side. He knew he was right, he just hoped she saw that.

As he lay there, his mind drifted off to the topic that had been plaguing him for the last couple of weeks. Lately, he had found that his thoughts had started focusing not on their task, but on something, someone else entirely and that someone was Draco Malfoy. 

From his first time back into the Wizarding World, the blond had been in his life. Despite the fact that he was a pain in the arse, he was one of the few constants that Harry had and knew he could rely on. 

“Harry?” Hermione’s voice drew his thoughts from the blond and he turned to look at her.

“Yeah?” 

Sighing, Hermione sat on his bed and scooted backwards until her back hit the wall.

Seeing the pensive look on her face, Harry got up and sat down beside her. “What is it?”

“Remember what you told me a couple of weeks ago?” Hermione looked at him, “about Ron and everything?”

“Yeah?” Harry nodded. “Have you thought about it?”

“It’s all I’ve been doing,” Hermione admitted with a sigh. “And the truth is, the truth is, you were right. Everything you said, I went over it in my mind and it all makes sense.” She let out a rueful laugh. “It took a while to convince myself to believe it all, but I did. The thing of it is, I can’t understand why I didn’t see it before, you know? Every day since I started Hogwarts, all I’ve heard was how I was the brightest witch of my age, but, I was so stupid because I didn’t see! How could I have missed all those signs?”

“Because you didn’t want to see,” Harry said gently. He reached out an arm and wrapped it around her shoulders, pulling her into his body. “It took a while for me to see it too ‘Mione, and like you, at first, I didn’t want to believe it. I kept reasoning with myself, saying I was wrong and I was just looking for excuses and reasons to be angry at Ron, but the more I thought about it-

“The more you realized that you weren’t wrong,” Hermione cut him off with a sad smile, “that it was all true.”

“Yeah,” Harry nodded. He shifted her so that he could see her face. “So, what do you plan to do?”

Hermione sighed, “I don’t know. Everything feels so jumbled. A part of me wants to ignore everything you told me, but the bigger half knows I can’t. You were right. Deep down, we’re still the same person we were when we were eleven. I never saw it before, but I see it now. Things have changed Harry; Ron’s left us, again, and to be honest, now that I’ve taken my blinders off and see the last few years as they really happened, I don’t think I can forgive him this time.”

“You know he’ll probably come back, right?” Harry told her, not wanting to put a damper on their moods, but knowing it needed to be said.

“I know,” Hermione nodded, “but I can honestly say I don’t want him to. It’ll be hard, you know? Not being around him after I spent the last few years liking him so much, but, in the end, it’ll be worth it.” she sighed, “I just, I really thought Ron really liked me, you know? I mean, he had seemed like he had changed. He was actually listening to me, he was doing stuff like holding my hands and saying the right things.”

At her words, Harry looked away guilty. 

“What is it?” Hermione asked when she saw what he did. “Harry? Just tell me.”

“Well,” Harry started, tapping his fingers against his knee in a nervous gesture. “I’m not sure if it’s the reason or not, but, back when we were at the burrow, Ron showed me a book. He had gotten it from his brothers.”

“What kind of book?” Hermione asked, though a part of her didn’t want to. It was obvious from the way Harry was acting that she wouldn’t like the answer.

“‘Twelve Fail Safe Ways to Charm a Witch’,” Harry answered. “I thought it was just a joke. I never thought he would’ve really used it, because I had asked him if he was going to and he had said no. Since he had gotten it from the twins, he had thought everything in it would’ve been wrong.” 

“Oh,” Hermione looked down. She couldn’t believe it. Just when she thought there was nothing else Ron could’ve done, she was thrown off course. Hearing that he had only been changing was because of a book, of him wanting to find the easy way out left her reeling. And yet, a part of her couldn’t help but to find it ironic that it was a book, the things that had been her companion before Hogwarts, had basically been used against her.

Harry looked at her, “I’m so sorry ‘Mione. If I had known he had actually used it, I would’ve told you.”

“Harry,” Hermione looked up at him when she heard the nervousness and guilt and worry in his voice. “It’s not your fault. It was Ron’s for doing it, and mine for falling for it. I am so stupid!”

“No, you’re not,” Harry grabbed her chin, forcing their eyes to meet and hold, “You are not stupid, Ron is. Don’t let him have any more influence over your life.”

Hermione smiled at him. “When did you get so smart?”

“Well, I’ve been hanging out with you since I was eleven,” Harry laughed, “some of your smartness was bound to rub off on me.”

The two shared a laugh. 

“It’s hard to imagine it,” Hermione said after a moment of silence.

“What is?” Harry asked, looking at her.

“Ending our friendships with Ron and Ginny,” Hermione sighed, “Ron’s been there since first year and Ginny second, and it really is hard to imagine not talking to them anymore, but, considering what I know now, I believe it’s the best choice for us.”

“I agree,” Harry nodded. “Yeah it’ll be hard, but I think I always knew me and Ron’s friendship wouldn’t last. I think I knew it from the moment he chose not to believe me back in fourth year. I just didn’t completely realize it, you know?”

“I do,” Hermione smiled sadly. “It’s the end of an era.”

Harry chuckled softly, “and the start of a new one.”

“Yeah,” Hermione’s smile lost its sadness and became brighter. She knew without a doubt that Harry would be the one person she would always be able to count on; he would never leave her, never hurt her—at least not intentionally—and would always be there for her. He was her brother and nothing was going to change that.

Silence reigned between them after that, but neither minded. They were used to just enjoying each other’s presence without having the need to talk to disrupt the comfortable atmosphere.

“I think we should go to Godric’s Hollow,” Harry said, startling Hermione.

“What?” Hermione frowned at him, “why?”

Harry gripped his best friend—sister’s hands as he explained just why they needed to go to his former home. When he was done, he held a breath, hoping beyond hope that Hermione would understand his reasoning. And in the end, she did.

“You know it could very well be trapped,” Hermione said, not wanting to be the bad guy, but still needing him to understand her point. “You-Know-Who would know you’d, at some point, want to go back to where your parents used to live and laid a trap for you.”

“I know,” Harry admitted softly, “but, I have to go…I need to go.”

“Ok,” Hermione nodded, her voice soft, “We’ll go.”

It was with trembling hands that Harry gathered their stuff while Hermione folded and shrunk the tent. They stepped close, wrapping their arms around each other and then, they disapparated.

~…~

Going to Godric’s Hollow had been a blessing and a curse; a blessing because not only had they found the strange signal again, but they had also found out that the Dumbledore’s had resided there and Harry had finally seen his parents’ graves. It was a curse though, due to the fact that Hermione was right, it really was a trap, and to make matters worse, when he was protecting Hermione from the Nagini, his wand had gotten broken.

So now, the two of them were in another forest, inside their tent, with only one working wand.

“Harry,” Hermione said, for what was probably the tenth time, “I am so sorry about your wand.”

“’Mione, it’s fine,” Harry reassured her. “Yes I’m upset about my wand, but I’m more happy because you’re ok. And besides, we can always switch off with yours. We’re lucky that somehow I’m able to use it.”

Hermione nodded, but still didn’t look too convinced. 

“It’ll be fine,” Harry touched her arm and smiled, “stop worrying so much. Now, we’ll take turns keeping watch. I’ll do it tonight, so get some sleep.”

“Ok,” Hermione sighed. 

“Good,” Harry said then he left the tent and walked over to a tree just a short distance away. He was still close enough to see and hear Hermione, but at an angle to keep an eye out. Sitting on the ground, he leaned back against the tree with a sigh, but still kept his gaze alert and his body in a battle ready position. He wasn’t about to put Hermione in danger again, not like what happened earlier at Godric’s Hallow. 

~…~

A few nights later, things changed. During his shift, his attention was drawn by a silvery light he could see through the trees. Casting a look back to make sure Hermione was ok, he slowly got closer to it, his eyes widening briefly when he saw that it was actually a Patronus, a doe to be exact. With caution steps, he followed it, until he came to a frozen pond. He watched as the doe dipped its head into the lake before walking in, becoming just a bright ball of light as it sank. 

Stepping closer to the edge, Harry looked down and his mouth fell open on a gasp when he saw the sword of Gryffindor at the bottom. Throwing a cautious look around him, he slowly removed his clothes and placed them on a log nearby. Teeth chattering, he made his way back to the edge and melted an area of the pond. With that done, he threw the wand where his clothes were and then, he dived in. 

Instantly he was hit full coldness of the water, but he gritted his teeth and forged on. Ignoring the cold, he swam harder to where the sword lay. Just before his hand could grab the hilt, the locket around his neck let out a pulse before it jerked back, pulling him away from the sword. 

Body filling instantly with terror, Harry fought against the pull of the locket, all the while cursing himself for not removing it before he decided to take his midnight swim. He could feel the blackness hovering on the edge of his conscious and tried hard not to let it overtake him. He looked back to where the sword was and reached out one last time to try and grab it. Just seconds before the blackness took him, and just before he could actually grab the sword, he felt an arm wrap around his shoulder as another reached forward to grab the sword.

For a split second, he fear filled as he thought it was Hermione, but then he realized the arm was too masculine. He could feel the person pushing towards the surface and with renewed vigour, he kicked off with his legs. The next thing he knew, he was kneeling on the ground, coughing. He quickly made his way to his clothes and when he had his jeans back on, he finally looked up at his saviour and froze.

“Ron?”

“Are you bloody mad?” Ron gaped at Harry. “What the hell were you playing at jumping in the freezing water, and with the locket on, no less?”

Harry’s mind suddenly remembered the night Ron left and he unfroze and slowly pulled his shirt on, making sure to keep an eye on the redhead. When he was completely dressed, he looked at Ron. “What are you doing here Ron?”

“I saw you walking this way and I followed you,” Ron said, his blue eyes still on Harry’s form. He could see the way Harry held his body stiff and it sent hurt through him, even though he knew that it was because of him. He still remembered what he had said the night he left, and shame flashed through him. Clearing his throat, he continued, “It’s a good thing I did too. Why didn’t you just take off the locket if you knew you were going to jump in the lake?”

“It didn’t cross my mind,” Harry said. His gaze dropped to the sword in Ron’s hands. 

Seeing where his eyes had gone, Ron started towards Harry. “Here,” he held out the sword, “Take it and destroy the bloody thing.”

Harry stared at the sword before raising his gaze to look Ron in the eyes. “No. you’re the one that grabbed the sword, so you should be the one to destroy it.” he removed the locket from his neck and placed it on the log. “When I open it, I want you to stab it with as much force as you can. As hard as you can Ron.”

Ron blanched. “What!? No way! You do it!”

“Look Ron!” Harry snapped, “you’re going to do it, alright?! Just get over whatever problem you have and just do it!”

Ron flinched at the harsh tone, but he steeled himself. Shifting the sword to get a better grip on it, he nodded towards Harry. “Ok…I’m ready.”

Harry nodded and looked down at the locket. {Open} he hissed.

The locket fell open and a black mist rose up from it. Ron froze while Harry glared at it, then at the redhead. “NOW RON!”

But Ron was still frozen in fear and could only watch as the mist became larger and larger until a face, though blurred, could be seen.

“RON!” Harry shouted out in frustration as he looked at his former friend. He quickly looked back, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw that their commotion didn’t bring Hermione running. 

Hearing Harry’s voice, the face turned towards him. **“Harry Potter…I see what’s in your heart…what you fear most of all…” **the cloud shifted until it formed a person.****

Harry could only stare in shock. His heart started pounding and he could feel tears fill his eyes at what he was seeing. He watched for a few minutes more and then, he forcefully shook his head, breaking the trance that was over him. He dropped to the ground, hiding behind the log as he tried to get his breathing and his heart rate under control.

“DAMNIT RON! DESTROY THE LOCKET…NOW!” Harry yelled. 

Harry’s shout finally pulled Ron out of frozen state and with determined hands, he raised the sword, ready to bring it down on the locket. But once again, he was frozen, but this time, it was because the black cloud had turned its attention on him.

**“Poor…Ronald Weasley…the tag-along…the sidekick…always in the Boy-Who-Lived shadow…always second best…even by the one you love…” ******

Ron could only stare in horror as the cloud morphed into Hermione. 

_**“Silly Ronald,” _ **the not-Hermione smirked nastily, _ **“You’re nothing compared to the Saviour of the Wizarding World. Why would I want you, when I could have Harry Potter?” __**_**_**_ ****

Ron’s horror grew as he saw Harry form in the mist and then, he felt his heart break when he saw the two kiss.

Harry looked up and over and Ron and saw the redhead frozen, he could see what the Horcrux was doing and he became angry. “FOR FUCKSAKES, RON! IT’S NOT BLOODY REAL! DESTROY THE FUCKING LOCKET!”

Shaking his head, Ron tightened his grip on the sword and brought down on the locket with a fierce yell. The black cloud screeched in rage and agony before it exploded out of sight. When it was gone, Ron fell to his knees panting heavily.

Harry waited a few minutes until he was sure everything was fine and then, he got up and headed first to the locket, making sure it really was destroyed, and then to Ron. He knew what the redhead saw was bugging him, and he understood now why Ron had acted the way he did, but that didn’t erase the last six years. As far as Harry was concerned, Ron didn’t deserve to know the truth.

“We have to go Ron,” Harry said as he reached down and grabbed the sword. “We can’t stay here. I left ‘Mione in the tent and I’ve already been gone longer than I thought.”

Ron trembled as his eyes slipped close; the image of Hermione kissing Harry would be burned into his brain for all time. It was as if his worst fears had been torn from him. It’s the one thing he always worried about; he wasn’t blind. He could see how close the two were. Ever since their third year, Harry and Hermione seemed to be able to communicate with looks alone. And the days leading up to the night he left, it had been even worse; he had seen the looks, the secret smiles, the way they always seemed so close, how they would bend their heads together, the whispers, it all drove him crazy. But, it was nothing compared to now. And Harry, he didn’t even deny it. Instead, his words seemed more like a confirmation than anything. 

Harry stopped walking and looked back at the redhead still kneeling on the ground. He wanted to feel some pity for him, but he just couldn’t muster any up. He had cut his ties with Ron the night he left, the night he had thrown that Harry was an orphan back in his face. But despite that, he knew he couldn’t leave him there.

“Are you coming or not?” Harry asked. He was feeling anxious. He really didn’t like leaving Hermione alone, especially after what had happened at Godric’s Hallow a few nights ago. 

“Y-yeah,” Ron nodded and stood up. With his back still to Harry, he wiped the tears that had spilled over onto his cheeks. Sighing deeply, he turned and followed Harry, neither saying a thing.

The closer the two boys got to the tent, they could see a figure pacing back and forth.

“Harry?” Hermione called out, worry in her voice. “Harry? Where are you?”

Quickening his pace, Harry hurried over to his friend. “’Mione, I’m right here.”

“Oh thank Merlin,” Hermione breathed out as she ran to him and threw her arms around his neck. “I was so scared. I couldn’t find you and—

“I’m sorry,” Harry said as he squeezed in reply. “I’m fine.”

Hermione pulled back from the hug. “Where were you?” her eyes took in his wet clothes and cold skin, “What happened?” she looked over his shoulder and saw Ron and her body stiffened even as her eyes went dark with anger. “Ron?! What is he doing here?!”

“He found me,” Harry said and then he explained everything to her.

“So the locket is destroyed?” Hermione asked, disbelief and relief in her voice.

“Yes,” Harry nodded, “Ron managed to stab it with the sword of Gryffindor.”

Hermione looked up at her ex and all the pain and anger of his abandonment hit her. “Why are you here Ron? You left us, remember? You left me. I came after you! I yelled! I screamed! I called out your name! And you still disapparated!”

Ron shifted nervously. “I’m-I’m s-sorry.”

“You’re sorry?!” Hermione scoffed. She glared at him with such anger that he took a step back. “And that’s supposed to make it all better?! What you did, what you said, we’re supposed to forget it because you’re sorry?”

Ron turned helpless eyes to Harry, but the brunet ignored him. As far as he was concerned, Ron deserved everything. He knew Hermione wouldn’t take him back, but he knew that despite that fact, she had needed to deal with the anger from Ron leaving them. When Ron wasn’t here, she had pushed it away, but now he was back, the redhead would feel it all. And he didn’t feel a slight bit of pity for him. Instead, he walked over to Hermione.

“Be careful,” he warned softly as he touched her arm. 

Hermione smiled at him, “I will.”

Harry nodded and walked past her to the tent. 

Hermione watched him go before turning back to Ron. “You have nothing to say for yourself?”

Ron, who had looked away when he saw Harry touch Hermione’s arm, looked back. “I’m so sorry Hermione. I-I don’t know what I was thinking. I was just so frustrated.”

“That’s no excuse Ron,” Hermione shook her head, “what you did, what you said, it changed everything.” With that, she turned and headed back to the tent.

“Are we,” Ron stopped and swallowed over the lump in his throat, “are we ok?”

“No,” Hermione stopped, but she replied without turning around. She knew her words were hurting him, but she couldn’t bring herself to be sorry. He had done far worse. “It’s getting cold; you should come inside and warm up.” And she continued walking, disappearing inside the tent, leaving the redhead staring after her.

~…~

Harry sat on his bed, his eyes on the tent’s entrance, but his gaze unfocused. His mind was on what the Horcrux had shown him. It was images after images, but they had all been of the same thing; Draco dying. He   
was confused. He couldn’t understand why his deepest fear was of the blond dying, but it was. He needed to talk to Hermione; she would be able to make sense of it and help him understand. As if summoned by his thoughts, she walked inside.

“’Mione, I need to talk to you,” Harry stood up and walked over to her.

“What is it Harry?” Hermione looked at him.

“It’s about what I saw when the Horcrux came out of the locket,” Harry said.

“What do you mean?” Hermione turned fully to face him, her hands coming up to rest on his arms. 

“When I opened the locket, a black mist came out and it showed me my deepest fear,” Harry told her. He was about to continue, but Ron stepped into the tent.

“Why’d you--” Hermione started but then she looked over her shoulder and saw Ron staring at the two of them. “Oh.” Turning back to Harry, she held his arm and pulled him over to his bed, before turning back to Ron. “You can set up over there.” She pointed to the area on the other side of the tent, across from both her and Harry, the three of them forming a triangle.

Not even bothering to see if he did as she said, Hermione turned back to Harry. She sat him on his bed and sat down next to him. Sensing that her friend didn’t want Ron to hear anything, she grabbed her wand from him and cast a Silencing Charm around the two of them, not caring what Ron would think.

“What did you see?” Hermione asked, concern colouring her voice.

“I saw Malfoy,” Harry admitted softly despite the Silencing Charm, “I saw him dying in my arms. I saw how wrecked I was and I’m so confused. Why is my worst fear of him dying? Why would I be so upset if he did? He and I have been nothing but enemies from day one. I mean, he’s a prat and all, and even if him dying isn’t something I would wish for, why did the locket show me being so upset over it?”

Hermione bit her lip as she thought over his words. When he had told her all his thoughts on Ron’s friendship to them, she had not only thought on the memories as well, but others had invaded her thoughts as well. She had noticed that of all the memories she had of Harry, more often than not, Malfoy was in them too. She had also noticed that the confrontations between her best friend and the blond were always initiated by Malfoy and it was almost always after Harry’s attention had been on someone or something else. At the time, she had thought that Malfoy was just liked to pick on Harry because of his fame, but looking back, she saw that that wasn’t the case. To her now, it seemed as if Malfoy never liked when Harry’s attention was on anyone except him, so he picked fights to regain it. He was always in Harry’s business and whenever they fight, he always got closer to Harry. And then, she had been hit with an epiphany; Malfoy was pulling pigtails.

And if she thought on Harry’s actions, and she had, it all made sense. The way Harry reacted to Malfoy; he never reacted that way around anyone else. Somehow, the blond managed to get under Harry’s skin and she had heard more about Malfoy—though it was all said in rants and with suspicion colouring it—than she thought Harry should say. If anyone said anything to him, he ignored it, except when it came to Malfoy. He never could let it go. And all of last year, while she, and basically everyone else, had been finding boyfriends and girlfriends, Harry wanted to do nothing more than follow the blond Slytherin around. And now, listening to what he was telling her; what the Horcrux showed him as his deepest fear, it made everything so clear. Harry was just as in love with Malfoy, as the blond was with him. She just needed to explain that to him and to get him to understand.

“”Mione?” Harry waved a hand in front of Hermione’s face as he saw that she had spaced out. “Anyone in there?”

“Stop it,” Hermione chastised with a smile as she slapped his hand away.

“So, do you know why?” Harry asked. He trusted that she would have an answer as she always seemed to.

“Yes,” Hermione nodded, “but I’m not sure you’re going to like the answer I give you.”

“What is it?” Harry started pleading, “’Mione, just tell me. Why is my greatest fear him dying?”

“It’s your greatest fear Harry,” Hermione started, “because you love him.”

Harry drew back in shock. “What?”

Hermione gave a rueful smile, “I know. It shocked me too when I first came to the realization, but it’s the truth. You love him Harry, and I do suspect he feels the same about you.”

“How the bloody hell did you come up with that?” Harry blurted out. 

Hermione laughed softly before she explained everything to him.

~…~

Ron sat on his bed, going through his stuff, but watching his two friends out of the corner of his eyes. He felt a pang when he saw Hermione cast the Silencing Charm and he looked away because he knew what it meant; they may have welcomed, or allowed, him back, but they didn’t trust him. And it hurt. He knew though that it was his fault for leaving in the first place and that he had no one to blame but himself.

His gaze moved back over to them and his jealousy burned bright at how close they were sitting and he couldn’t help but to remember what the Horcrux had shown him. He didn’t want to believe it, but, seeing them now…He knew he messed up by leaving, and he messed up even more by what he had said to Harry, but he didn’t think they’d be acting this coldly towards him. And Hermione, after everything he went through to finally get her, she didn’t seem to want anything to do with him. 

_‘No…she wants Harry bloody Potter,’ _he thought scornfully. And then, the shame hit him. Again, he was letting his anger at himself and his jealousy ruin things. They could’ve told him to leave, but they didn’t. They let him stay and he should be happy about that. He had felt so guilty when he had left, but now, he had a chance to be friends with them again. He threw another glance at the two and sighed sadly. From the looks of things, he wasn’t sure they would be friends or anything more.__

_‘Hermione’s right, everything’s changed. One stupid moment and everything’s changed.’ ___

~…~

“Harry?” Hermione’s voice was cautious as she looked at her best friend who had gone silent after her explanation. “Are you ok?”

“I’m fine,” Harry sighed and then smiled at her, “I’m just shocked. It’s not every day you find out your in love with your school bully. I can’t believe I never saw it. I mean, how can you be so sure I love him?” and, in a rare moment of vulnerability where glimpses of his neglected childhood shined through, his green eyes turned pleading on his next question, “’Mione, how do I know this is love when I’ve never-I’ve never felt it before? How can I trust it?” the last part was whispered. 

Hermione felt her heart break at his words, and for a split second, she felt nothing but pure rage towards the Dursleys and the way they treated him. She was also humbled by the trust he’s showing by allowing her to see more evidence of the abuse he tries so hard to keep hidden.

“Oh Harry,” with tears in her eyes, she pulled him into a tight, but brief hug. She pulled back and smiled at him. “You trust me, don’t you?”

His reply was instant, “Above everyone else.”

Her heart warmed at his words. “Then trust I wouldn’t lie to you. These last few weeks when I was thinking over everything you told me, more memories came to mind and that’s when I realized it. Like I said, at first, I didn’t want to believe it, and then, I remembered what my mother told me when I asked her how I would know if I fell in love.”

“What did she say?” Harry asked.

“She said, you know you’ve fallen in love when all you can think about is that person,” Hermione explained with a small smile, “when you constantly seek them out, when being around them makes you feel alive, you feel more like yourself, they can get to you in ways no one else can, when your palms go sweaty and your heart starts beating faster when they’re near, when you get jealous if someone else pays attention to them or they pay attention to someone else, when you notice every little thing about them, when you find excuses just to be around them, and how, whenever you’re not together, you find yourself thinking about them and what they’re doing.” her smile slipped off her face and a frown replaced it as she threw a glance in Ron’s direction. “That’s why I should’ve realized I didn’t love Ron, at least not that way, because the only thing I have ever felt in regard to him is either anger, jealousy, or pain.” She shook her head and looked back at him, “Anyway, when I remembered that, that’s when it sunk in; you and Mal—Draco, love each other, but, neither one of you knows it.”

“It can’t work though, can it?” Harry whispered after a moment of silence. “He and I are on opposite sides of this war. How can we be together when he’s with them?”

“Harry,” Hermione said, “remember what you told me about the night Dumbledore died? You said that Draco had his wand pointed at Dumbledore, but that he couldn’t do it, he couldn’t say the spell and he admitted how terrified he was because he had to complete his task because if he didn’t, then You-Know-Who would kill him and his parents. And despite that hanging over his head, he still couldn’t say the spell to end Dumbledore’s life. You told me he lowered his wand and would’ve given up if Snape and the others had chosen that moment to enter the Tower.”

“Yeah,” Harry nodded, silently wondering where she was going.

“Then that proves that you can make it work,” Hermione smiled, “despite everything he’s done to us, Draco Malfoy, prat though he may be, is not a killer. Dumbledore knew it, that’s why he talked him out of killing him. I think that deep down Malfoy is just as much a victim in this war as we are. I know that because of your scar, you’re connected to You-Know-Who, but imagine how it is for Malfoy. He doesn’t have to have his mind connected to the madman because he has to see him every day. When Malfoy lowered his wand, he proved that there was some good inside of him, and, if after all this is over, you want to pursue a relationship with him, I’ll stand behind you. You’ll have my support.”

“Why?” Harry asked, “I know that you don’t like him, especially after everything he’s done to us…to you. So why would you encourage me to go after him?”

“Because I think he could make you happy,” Hermione said, “and you Harry, more than anyone else, deserves happiness.”

Harry grinned at her, his green eyes lighting up with joy. “Anyone ever tell you you’re the best sister in the world?”

Hermione blushed, but smiled in response, “Yeah…you.”

Harry laughed and pulled her into a hug, burying his face in her neck. “I love you ‘Mione.”

Hermione tightened her arms around his neck and smiled. “I love you too Harry.”

Ron watched the whole scene with jealousy burning brightly in his blue eyes.

~…~

It was only about two days later, when Ron managed to get Hermione alone. It was Harry’s turn on guard, so Ron decided to use the opportunity to talk with the girl.

“Hermione?” he called out softly as he walked over to where she was sitting.

Hermione put down the book she was reading and turned slightly to look at him. “What is it Ronald?”

Ron held back his wince at the use of his full name. “I wanted to know if we could talk?”

“Talk about what?” Hermione asked. 

“About us,” Ron said, gaining courage from the fact that she hadn’t sent him away.

“There is no ‘us’ Ron,” Hermione sighed sadly as she locked gazes with him, “not anymore.”

“Why?” Ron demanded, “Is it because I left? Because I came back and I apologized. Leaving you, and Harry, was the worst thing. I missed you guys so much, you especially. I know I hurt you by leaving, but, I’m sorry.”

It was the third time he had apologized, but it meant nothing to her. She used to think she’d be happy if he had apologized even once for his actions, but hearing it now, told her only one thing; it was too late. Too much had been done for it to be erased and forgotten by a few ‘I’m sorry’. 

Sighing again, Hermione looked away and bit her lip. “I know you think it’s because you left, but it’s not that, not really. I mean, yeah, you leaving played a part in it, but, it wasn’t the only thing.” She looked back at him, “Ron, when you left, it hurt me, a lot, and it hurt Harry too. You were our best friend and you abandoned us when we needed you. And it wasn’t the first time either. Your leaving forced us to think back over our school years and we came to a lot of realizations. What I’m saying Ron, is that, I can’t be with you again, I won’t be with you, because I’m not in love with you. I don’t think I ever was.”

“What?” Ron drew back as if slapped and in a way, he was. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You can’t mean that.”

“I do,” Hermione nodded, “Ron, it won’t work between us. We never should’ve begun in the first place.”

“Did Harry put you up to this?” Ron lashed out, “did he make you believe you don’t love me? I know he was angry I left. Or is it Harry you want? It’s always him, isn’t it?”

Hermione’s eyes narrowed into slits and she stood up to glare down at him. “Harry didn’t do anything, and this is not his fault. And the fact that you can sit there and accuse him…Ron, you haven’t changed a bit. You’re still the same self-absorbed, jealous arse that left us! This! This is why I don’t want to be with you! You blame everyone else for everything except yourself! And for your information, I don’t want Harry considering it’d be incest if I did. He’s like my brother, you inconsiderate, ignorant dumbass!”

By the time she was done, Hermione’s chest was heaving. She was unbelievably angry at Ron for what he said. Accusing Harry of putting her up to it and then accusing her of wanting him…

“It never changes with you, does it?” Hermione asked after she calmed herself down somewhat, “and it never will. You’re always going to be jealous of Harry. All you see is the fame and the money and the glory. You see Harry Potter, the Saviour of the Wizarding World, but do you even see Harry? Do you even see the boy behind the title?” 

“Of course I do,” Ron replied, his voice indignant.

“No Ron,” Hermione shook her head, “you don’t. You’ve never seen Harry, and you never will. You resent Harry, and you’re envious of his fame and everything that comes with it, but you’re too blind to see that Harry would trade it all away for just one thing; a loving family.”

Ron looks away, ashamed, as her words brought back with sudden clarity, the words he had thrown in Harry’s face the day he had left.

_“Your family’s dead; mine is still alive!” ___

“I’m tired Ron,” Hermione continued, her voice going softer, “I’m tired of the constant fighting and of the jealousy and that’s why it’s over between us and why nothing will ever happen, ever again.”

“Hermione,” Ron turned back to look at her, his vision going slightly blurry as tears filled his eyes. “We can make this work. I love you.”

“No we can’t,” Hermione shook her head, “and no, you don’t. If you love someone, you do everything in your power to make them happy, even if it’s at the expense of your own. You’ve never done that; not once in the entire time we’ve known each other have you ever placed me first. It’s always been about you and what you want. You don’t love me Ron and I don’t think you ever did. And that’s the difference between you and Harry.”

“What are you saying?” Ron clenched his hands into fists, “Do you love him?”

“I do,” Hermione smiled, “and he loves me.”

“I knew it,” Ron hissed angrily. “It’s always Harry bloody Potter. The guy every girl wants.”

Hermione glared at him, “do you hear yourself? I love Harry Ron, but not in the way you think! I told you before, he’s like my brother! And you really are too self-absorbed to see that!” she shook her head, “it really is always going to be about Harry with you, isn’t it?”

“Not always,” Ron shook his head. Even though he felt a rush of relief at her words of Harry being like her brother, the sadness overweighs it, as does the feeling of shame that he had thought she and Harry were together. 

“I’m done with being in a relationship with you,” Hermione’s voice was firm and had finality to it.

And Ron knew, there was no changing her mind. It really was over between them. He could feel his heart breaking, but he knew he had no one to blame but himself. 

“Is everything ok?” Harry’s voice drew their attention and they both looked up to see him standing in the doorway.

Hermione sighed before smiling at him, “it’s ok. We’re just putting things to rest.”

Harry’s eyes moved from Hermione to Ron and stared there for a few minutes, taking in the way the redhead’s hands were balled into tight fists and the way he turned his head, before shifting his gaze back to Hermione.

“Ok,” Harry nodded, “We need to move soon. We’ve already spent enough time here and staying longer runs the risks of possibly getting caught.”

“I’ll start packing up,” Hermione said and she turned away from Ron to start packing her things up.

After a few minutes, Ron walked back over to his side and started packing his own things up as well. 

Almost a half an hour later, they had packed up everything and were ready to leave. 

“Everything set?” Harry asked as he looked at the two of them.

“Yeah,” Ron nodded.

“We can go now,” Hermione said as she walked over to stand next to Harry.

Ron looked away and Harry stared at him for a few seconds before he turned away. “Good. Let’s go.”

The three of them started walking, their pace gaining speed as they hurried away from the spot. They had been walking for over an hour when they heard it.

“What was that?” Ron asked as they froze. He turned slightly as his eyes darted around.

“I don’t know,” Hermione whispered as she took a step closer to Harry. 

“Keep your eyes open,” Harry said as he grabbed Hermione’s hand in his. Seconds later, they heard the shouts and saw the spells being fired at them.

“RUN!” Harry hissed sharply as he tugged his hand free of Hermione’s, pushing her in front of him.

All three took off, looking frantically back behind to see their pursuers gaining ground on them.

Hermione knew they were going to get caught, even as she pushed herself to run faster. She didn’t want to Apparate without them, especially Harry because his wand wasn’t in any working condition. She threw a spell over her shoulder at one of the men, satisfaction rolling through her at the man’s shout as it connected. Moving her gaze back to the front, she saw more of their attackers Apparating a head of them. She knew they were closing around on them, and knew that if they realized they had Harry Potter, things would be even worse. Thinking quickly, she turned to Harry and shouted a spell at him.

Harry started when he felt Hermione’s spell hit him, but one look in her eyes and he knew what she did and why. He fought a grimace as he felt his face contort and let out a sigh as it finished, just as a man appeared in front of him, catching his arm. He tried to fight, and had almost gotten away, when another grabbed hold of him. He looked over and saw both Hermione and Ron in the same position.

“Well, well, what do we have here?” one of the men said as he walked in the midst of them. 

“We’re tourists,” Hermione said, “Wizard tourists.” She tried to calm her racing heart as to not let her fear show. 

“What do we do with them?” another man asked.

“Take them to the Lord,” the first man said, “let out Lord deal with them.”

The men let out dark chuckles and Hermione exchanged looks with Harry. They knew exactly who they were talking about. They had no time to think more on it as the men disapparated with the three of them.

~…~

They reappeared in a house. Dazed and confused, they looked around and spotted three people standing in the room; Bellatrix, Lucius and Narcissa and it was then they realized that they were at Malfoy Manor.  
Hermione cringed inwardly when the three elders’ eyes lit up on them and the recognition seared through their mind, but triumph rolled right after when she saw the confused expressions when their eyes fell on Harry. 

Ron was too busy whimpering and shaking in his shoes to really notice anything other than the fact that standing just before them was Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix LeStrange. For one brief second, he felt an instant surge of anger and hatred towards Harry for making them be in this situation in the first place before it disappeared completely.

“Is this Potter?” Bellatrix cooed out as she stood in front of Harry. She was barely holding herself back from dancing about with maniacal glee; if they did have Potter, it meant the war was over. And she hoped they did because she was itching to torture him. His screams would give her such pleasure.

“We don’t know,” one of the men said.

“It has to be,” Lucius said, his grey eyes alight with excitement. If they had Potter, then their Lord had won. But for him, it was so much more. With Potter here, in the Dark Lord’s custody, his family would be safe.

“Get Draco,” Bellatrix ordered, “he’ll be able to tell us if it’s Potter or not.”

Harry froze, as did Hermione, at the blond’s name. a part of him wanted to see Draco, to see that the teen was alive and well, but the other half didn’t want to because despite Hermione’s insistence that Malfoy was in love with him, he wasn’t sure the blond wouldn’t give him up to save his family.

When Draco is pulled into the room by one of the men, his grey eyes dart around the room, resting first on his parents and aunt and then, on the Golden Trio. The man behind him pushes a little and Draco stumbles to his knees.

Bellatrix went over and grabbed Harry's arm; she pulled him to where the blond was kneeling and shoved him to kneel as well. “Do you know who this is?”

“Is it Potter Draco?” Lucius questioned, taking a step closer to the two teens, “is it?” in his voice, the hope that it was Harry could be heard.

Draco ignored his father and aunt and everyone else and focused his eyes on the face in front of him. Distorted though it may be, he recognized Harry instantly and it was only the slight tightening of his jaw and the widening of his eyes that gave away his horror.

Harry looked into the grey eyes of the boy he loved and begged and pleaded for him not to say anything. He didn’t want Draco to identify him, not only for his sake, but for Hermione’s and even Draco himself. He could see that the blond was absolutely terrified and he looked nothing like the Draco that was at Hogwarts. 

Draco could see the green bleed back into the blue eyes in front of him, confirming that it was Harry, and his heart started pounding. He could read the pleading in them, and found himself unable to ignore. 

“I-I don’t know,” Draco said finally, knowing that he was possibly placing himself in more danger, but knowing he didn’t care. If saving Harry now meant the dark haired boy would have a chance to survive or escape later, he would do it, “I can’t be sure.”

Bellatrix turned to Hermione, “Granger was it? Where is Harry Potter?”

“I’m not saying,” Hermione jutted her chin forward in defiance. There was no way she was betraying Harry.

Bellatrix snarled in anger, “put them with the rest.” She motioned to Hermione, “not her.”

Harry’s eyes flew over to Hermione’s when he was jerked to his feet. He struggled in his captors’ arms as he and Ron were dragged from the room and into the dungeons.

They were thrown into a room and Ron turned to bang on the while Harry looked around. He froze when he saw the other occupants.

“Luna?” Harry questioned, spotting the blonde sitting against the far wall.

“Hello Harry,” Luna smiled as she stood up and walked over to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a hug. 

“Are you ok?” Harry tightened his arms briefly around her before pulling back, taking in her dirty clothes. “They didn’t hurt you, did they?”

Luna giggled, “I’m fine. They’ve been most courteous.”

Harry’s lips twitched into a grin despite his not wanting to smile. That was the thing about Luna; no matter the situation, she always managed to bring a smile to his face.

“Harry,” Xenophilis walked over to stand next to his daughter, “I am so sorry—

“It’s fine,” Harry cut him off, “Luna was in trouble and to be honest, if I was in your position I would’ve done the same thing.” He turned to look at the final person, “you alright Mr. Ollivander?”

“Fine Mr. Potter,” the tiny wand maker nodded.

A scream sounded through the room and Harry flinched when he recognized it.

“HERMIONE!” Ron screamed out as he pounded the door. He kept yelling her name and repeating it over and over, pounding on the walls.

“Damnit Ron, SHUT UP!” Harry growled out as he caught Ron’s hand before he could hit the wall again. “You yelling is not doing anything for her.”

“They’re torturing her,” Ron glared at Harry as he jerked his hand away, “she’s your friend. How can you stand there and do nothing?”

“BECAUSE I CAN’T DO ANYTHING!” Harry snapped. He tensed even more when he heard another scream. It was killing him to hear it, to hear her in so much pain and knowing there was nothing he could to stop   
it. “There’s no way out of here unless it’s through there,” he pointed to the door, “and it’s sealed shut. Only one of them can open it and I don’t see them in a hurry to do so unless it’s to take us to their master.”

“He’s right Ronald,” Luna hummed, “it really will do you no good to be yelling like that. Don’t worry, Hermione will be ok.”

“Whatever,” Ron growled. Another scream had him turning back to the door and he started shouting again.

Harry narrowed his eyes at him, but said nothing. As hard as it was, he tuned out Hermione’s screams and concentrated. 

_‘There has to be some way out of here,’ _he thought, _‘but how? How can we get out of here without them noticing?’ _Suddenly, it came to him, “Dobby!”____

The elf popped into the room. “Oh Master Harry. Sirs be calling Dobby.”

“Dobby,” Harry walked over to the elf, “can you take someone along when you pop out?”

“Oh yes Harry Potter sirs, Dobby can do that,” Dobby bounced, “I can be doing that.”

“Good,” Harry smiled, “can you take Luna and her father first and then Mr. Ollivander? I’ll call you when it’s time to take me and Ron and ‘Mione.”

“Dobby will do that Master Harry sirs,” Dobby near shouted.

“Hello,” Luna smiled as she walked over to the elf, her father following her. The three disappeared and then seconds later, Dobby reappeared and grabbed the wand maker. Just after they left, Ron and Harry heard footsteps and they looked up to see Peter Pettigrew.

“Where are the others?” Pettigrew demanded as his beady eyes darted around. “What did you do?”

Pettigrew turned around and headed back up the stairs, but Harry ran to the door.

“Pettigrew!” Harry shouted, his green eyes flashing with anger, “you owe me a life debt.”

Pettigrew froze at the teen’s words.

“I’m calling it in,” Harry continued, “open this door.”

Pettigrew turned around and slowly and unwillingly made his way back down the stairs. He unlocked the door, letting it swing open before stepping back.

Harry and Ron made their out and then Harry turned to Pettigrew. “Get in, and give me your wand.”

Pettigrew did as he was told, though he was scowling at Harry. 

Harry ignored him though and bound and gagged him before closing the door and locking it. He then turned to Ron, “Let’s go.”

The two headed up the stairs, cautiously looking out for anyone. Luck was on their side as they meet no one, and they appeared in the room they had been in. Harry’s breath caught in his throat as he saw Hermione lying on the floor, body twitching slightly in pain. His gaze was drawn to her extended hand where the word “Mudblood” had been carved and Bellatrix stood over her cackling. He heard Ron’s gasp, but ignored it. Rage fills him up and barely aware, he raised his hand, the one holding Pettigrew’s wand, and fired a spell at the crazed woman.

Bellatrix got knocked off her feet and those in the room whirled around in shock. Harry didn’t waste any time though; even as he made his way over to Hermione, he was throwing out spells, disarming everyone, Draco included, and sending their attackers back. The moment he got to her, he fell to his knees next to her and quickly, but carefully, pulled her into him and to her feet. 

“Accio wands!” Harry shouted out and Ron, Draco and Hermione’s wands come soaring to him. He let go of Hermione and caughtthem, before he rewrapped his arm around her again. “Hang on ‘Mione,” he whispered into her hair.

When Lucius moved to fire another spell, Harry turned on him and fired off his own. “Bombarda!”

The spell hits the wall behind the elder Malfoy, throwing debris forward, striking the man in the back. In the midst of it all, Draco stood watching with wide grey eyes.

“Dobby!” Harry shouted as he gathered Hermione. Ron stepped close to the two of them just as the elf popped into the room. 

“Master Harry!” Dobby’s huge eyes look around the room.

“Get us out of here!” Harry commanded. When the elf reached out to touch him, his gaze swung around to the blond. He couldn’t leave him. “Draco.”

Draco’s gaze moved to Harry and his body shook.

“What are you doing?” Ron hissed, unable to believe that Harry was actually calling the blond teen to go with him.

Harry ignored the redhead and locked his gaze onto the blond’s, pleading with his eyes for him to join them, to leave with them, with him. 

Draco saw the pleading and he desperately wanted to go with. His gaze swung down to where his father lay. He saw the sneer on Lucius’ face and could read the emotions in his eyes.

“You would be foolish to do it Draco,” Lucius warned. He stifled the groan that threatened to escape as he painfully got to his feet.

“Draco,” Narcissa called out to her son, her voice trembling from the emotions within it.

Draco looked over at her and mother and son locked gazes. When his mother’s face remained indifferent, Draco turned his gaze back to Harry.

“Please,” Harry whispered, though the word was heard by everyone. He had only come to the realization of his feelings for the blond and he knew that despite the fact that they would have to talk, he couldn’t leave   
Draco alone in this house. He couldn’t let him stay here.

“Do not do it,” Lucius took a step towards his son.

Draco looked at his mother once again, “I’m sorry.” And faster than thought possible, he was across the room, holding on to Harry’s outstretched hand just as Dobby popped them out. The last thing they all saw was the knife, thrown by Bellatrix, heading towards them.

~…~

They reappeared on a beach, landing on the shoreline in the water. Harry stumbled a bit, Hermione still in his arms. He looked around, and his gaze fell on Dobby, who was laying on the ground with Bellatrix’s knife sticking out of him.

“Oh no!” Harry looked at Ron. “Hold her, but be careful.”

Ron said nothing as he took Hermione.

Harry turned to Draco, “Do you know any spells? Anything that could save him?”

Draco looked from Harry to the elf, “I’m sorry, but it’s too late.”

Harry let out a scream of frustration and kneels next to the elf. “Dobby…I’m so sorry.”

“It’s alright Harry Potter sir,” Dobby coughed. The elf tried to say something else, but before he could, he died.

“I’m sorry Dobby,” Harry cried as he held the elf in his arms. He never expected this; he never wanted someone else to die for him.

Draco placed a hand on Harry’s shoulder. “We should go.”

Harry nodded and stood up, Dobby in his arms, and they made their way towards the cottage.

~…~

A month passed since Harry and the others arrived at Shell Cottage. The time had been spent with Hermione healing from her torture, dealing with Dobby’s death, making their plans for what they would do and also Harry and Draco learning about each other and getting closer.

It was mid-afternoon and they were standing outside, and they were arguing. Ron was angry because he couldn’t understand why Harry had not only brought Draco with them, but had kept him around the last month, while Hermione and Harry understood why Draco had to stay.

“Why is he still here?!” Ron demanded. “He never should’ve came with us, and we should’ve made him leave a long time go!”

“None of your business,” Harry snapped as he ran a hand through his hair.

“It’s bloody well my business if the reason we get killed is because of him,” Ron retorted, “He’s Malfoy! And a Death Eater! He’ll probably betray us the first chance he gets!”

“Just shut up Ron!” Hermione snapped and then she turned to Draco. “Don’t worry. Harry trusts you, and that’s enough for me.”

Draco said nothing as he looked from Harry to Hermione, completely ignoring Weasley. If this was months ago, he would’ve retaliated, but, after everything that had happened today, and everything that happened in the last few weeks, he wasn’t feeling up fighting with Weasley. The last month he had spent in their company had brought them, at least he and Harry, closer and he and Granger had come to a truce. 

“Where are you going then?” Draco asked instead. 

“Gringotts,” Hermione answered, “there’s something in Bellatrix’s vault, something that belongs to You-Know-Who and we need to get it.”

“Why?” Draco’s grey eyes narrowed as he thought on her words.

“Because,” Harry said, “destroying that object is the only way to get rid of that monster once and for all.”

“Let me come with,” Draco near pleaded, “Bellatrix is my aunt. I’ll have an easier time gaining access to the vault than you will.”

“Griphook agreed to help us,” Hermione sighed, “but to be honest, I’m feeling a bit uneasy at the whole thing. It seems a bit weird, a goblin helping us break into one of their vaults.”

“You should be uneasy,” Draco nodded in agreement, “from what I know about the goblins, is that they do nothing for free and as easy as that, they could turn on you. I wouldn’t trust the goblin, because they don’t   
trust us.”

“We have no choice,” Harry shook his head, “we have to use him.”

“Then let me come with you,” Draco insisted.

“No,” Harry turned to look at him.

“Listen,” Draco took a step closer to the brunet, “I just defied my father and turned my back on the Dark Side. As of right now, I’m considered a traitor and I’m just as much a target as you. The safest place I could ever be is with you.”

That was the closest admission to how he felt about the brunet. 

Harry stared into the grey eyes for a few minutes before he looked over at Hermione, “’Mione?”

“He’s right Harry,” Hermione stepped closer to her best friend, “we can’t leave him. If either side finds him, it’ll be over. He has to stay with us.”

Harry looked back at Draco, “alright, but if I tell you to do something, you do it, no questions asked.”

Draco crossed his arms, “Not if it what you tell me to do places your life or ours in danger.”

“We shouldn’t trust him!” Ron injected, his blue eyes flashing with anger. He really couldn’t understand why Harry and Hermione were willing to trust him, to work with him, especially after everything he had done. “We don’t need his help!”

“And we don’t need yours!” Hermione glared at the redhead. “You think we need the kind of help you have to give? The kind that involves leaving your supposed best friend and the girl you loved to fend for themselves while you relax in the comfort of your brother’s house!”

“What?” Ron blanched and his face flushed as guilt filled him.

“What are you talking about Hermione?” Harry asked, his voice dangerously low.

“When Ron here abandoned us back in the Forest,” Hermione spat, “Fleur told me he showed up. He spent his time eating and relaxing and enjoying himself while we were fighting for our lives. The only reason he left was because he told Bill we got separated and had a fight, so Bill made him leave.”

Harry’s green eyes snapped over to Ron and the redhead looked away, unable to hold the gaze.

“You’re not coming with us,” Harry said after a lengthy silence.

“You can’t do that!” Ron looked up at him, “I messed up, I get it, but are you really going to choose him over me?!”

“And yet, you left us,” Harry replied, his body heaving from the deep breaths he was taking to calm himself down, “and to be honest Ron, I don’t, I can’t, have you watching my back, watching Hermione’s back, when   
I’m not sure you won’t run away again.”

“And neither can I,” Hermione added sadly. Despite everything that had happened, she never envisioned this. Losing Ron’s friendship hurt more than she thought possible, even though she knew it was the right decision for her and for Harry. She knew he couldn’t understand why they were willing to trust Draco, but what she had told the blond had been the truth; Harry trusted him, so she did as well. She knew that the last month wouldn’t erase the last six years of school and the things the blond had done, but they were talking things out like civilized people and she was willing to move past it, Draco and Harry included. 

They were in a war, and they had more important things to worry about than petty school rivalries. She had seen Draco’s face back at the Manor and for the first time, she had been able to read the blond really well and she had read the complete and utter fear on his face and in his eyes. She knew then, that despite what they had gone through, what he had gone through had undoubtedly been worse. 

Draco had been just as much a victim of this war as they were, if not more so. Sure, Harry had visions from You-Know-Who and what happened at the Death Eater meetings, but Draco had been there. The blond had had that madman living in his house; he had been present at every meeting, more than likely as an initiation right. 

“You have to know I’m sorry I left,” Ron reached out to grab Hermione’s hand, but let his own drop when she stepped out of reach.

“We know,” Hermione nodded, “but that still doesn’t change the fact that you did.”

“What about everything Malfoy’s done to us?” Ron demanded, “How can you trust him?”

Draco opened his mouth to defend himself, but was beaten by Harry.

“We’re in a bloody war Ron!” Harry shouted, and then, took deep calming breaths—again—to prevent himself from hexing the redhead. “It’s time to grow up! It doesn’t matter what you say, it still won’t change anything. The truth of it is I just don’t trust you…not anymore.”

The words hurt Ron and he could feel his heart break. His best friend and the girl he loved were choosing their enemy over him. More than ever, he wished he hadn’t left them that day in the forest. His hurt became anger and he glared at the three of them, “Fine then! See if I care. When he turns on you, I’ll be glad to say I told you so!”

With that, he turned and headed back towards the cottage.

“Are you sure about this?” Draco asked as he watched the redhead go.

“Yes,” Harry nodded and then he let out a long and deep sigh. “We have to leave. We can’t afford to waste any more time. Let’s get Griphook and go.”

The three of them turned and headed in the same direction as Ron, each of them silent as they thought over everything that had just happened and what they were about to do.

~…~

Getting into Gringotts had been the easiest part; they had managed to get to the vault and get the cup. The hardest part was them getting out; things had turned bad when Griphook turned around and betrayed them.   
Now, they were fighting for their lives, not only against the goblins, but by the defences Bellatrix had placed in the vault. Draco had managed to disarm some of them, as he was a Black by blood, but there were still more left.

“We need to get out of here!” Hermione shouted over to Harry and Draco.

“But how?” Draco fired back as he dodged a spell by the goblins. 

Harry looked around and saw the dragon, a Hungarian Horntail, chained to the wall. Getting an idea, he fired a spell at it, breaking the chains holding it.

“Come on!” Harry shouted as he darted across the room to the dragon.

“Are you bloody mad?!” Hermione screeched as she saw what he was doing.

“He probably is,” Draco panted out as he got next to her. He grabbed her arm and sprinted to the dragon, pulling her along with him. They got to the dragon, and Draco pushed Hermione in front of him, allowing   
Harry to pull her up first before he got on after. The three huddled close together, holding tightly to one another.

Harry blasted a hole on the roof just as the dragon took off. They flew around for what seemed like hours. When the dragon flew over a lake, Harry turned to shout at the others;

“We’re gonna have to jump when he goes down for a swim!”

“No!” Hermione shook her head and clutched tighter to her best friend.

“Ready?!” Harry shouted as he shifted to low standing position on the dragon’s back.

“Ready!” Draco responded, holding tight to one of Hermione’s hands.

“Now!” Harry said and jumped, pulling the other two with him.

They fell into the lake with a splash and resurfaced after a few minutes. Using a spell, they propelled themselves to the bank, where they collapsed, breathing heavily.

“You ok?” Harry looked at Hermione.

“I can’t believe you did that!” Hermione scolded, or tried to; she was breathing too hard to get it right. 

“Sorry,” Harry grinned, not sounding sorry at all.

“I thought it was fun,” Draco chuckled as he shifted to his knees.

“Of course you did,” Hermione muttered, “boys and their toys.”

Harry and Draco shared a look and then a laugh. Harry couldn’t believe how easy it was having the blond around. He had thought it would awkward and difficult because of their past, but the blond was on the same page as he and Hermione; they were in a war and to survive, they had to put childhood rivalries behind them. Of course, the fact that they felt the same about each other helped as well. It was something he still couldn’t believe.

“Come on,” Harry said as he stood up. He held out a hand for Hermione to take. “We’ve got to get going.”

“Where’re we going now?” Draco asked as he stood up as well.

“Hogsmeade and then Hogwarts,” Hermione answered, “we’ve got to go back to the school.”

“You do know it’s probably going to be crawling with Death Eaters, right?” Draco raised an eyebrow.

“It won’t,” Harry told him, “the wards around the school will stop them from entering.”

“If You-Know-Who is there,” Hermione sighed, “he is strong enough to destroy them.”

“Ok, say his Death Eaters aren’t there,” Draco countered, “but he still has support in some of the students and the moment they see us coming towards the school, they’ll find a way to get it to their parents.”

“We know,” Harry nodded, “but there’re a lot of secret passages into the school.”

“Why are we going there anyways?” Draco asked as they started walking.

“To destroy the cup,” Harry said, “other than the sword of Gryffindor, which we don’t have, a Basilisk fang is the only thing that’ll destroy it.”

“Where in the bloody hell are you going to find a Basilisk fang?” Draco stopped and looked at the two of them. 

Harry and Hermione exchanged looks.

“Do you remember second year?” Harry grinned.

Draco flushed as he remembered how he had acted that year. “That was the year everyone accused you of being the heir of Slytherin.”

“Well,” Harry started and then, he told the blond all about the Chamber of Secrets and the Basilisk that had lived there.

~…~

They appeared in the school and Neville led them to where the other students were; while the students were happy to know that Harry, and Hermione, was alive, they were confused and wary of Draco’s presence.   
Harry, Draco and Hermione quickly made their way to the corridors and up to the second floor girl’s bathroom.

“Ok,” Harry opened the entrance and then turned to the two, “’Mione, you and Draco go down to the Chamber of Secrets and get a fang from the Basilisk. I’ll see if I can find the Grey Lady and figure out where the diadem is.”

“I think we should stick together,” Draco argued, unwilling to let the brunet out of his sight.

“I agree,” Hermione said, “but I know we can’t.” 

“Just how exactly are we supposed to get to where the Basilisk’s corpse is?” Draco asked, “You’d have to be there to open it.”

“Can’t we just mimic the sounds?” Hermione asked, “I mean, Harry can repeat open in Parseltongue for us and we can mimic it when we get there.”

“You can’t,” Draco shook his head, “Parseltongue is not a common language like Latin, or French or German, and I don’t know much about it, but what I do know is that it’s a language that you can’t just say if you don’t actually speak it.”

“He’s right,” Harry sighed, “so what do we do?”

“We go together,” Draco said, “it’ll be faster as you know where to go. We can destroy the cup and then hurry back up here to find the Grey Lady.”

“Or,” Hermione smiled, “the two of you can go down to the Chambers, while I find the Grey Lady.”

The boys exchanged looks.

“Alright,” Harry nodded, “let’s do this.” He turned to Hermione, “we’ll try to hurry. If you find her before we get back, send a Patronus.”

“Got it,” Hermione nodded, “good luck.”

“You too,” Harry said and quickly threw his arms around her, pulling her into a tight hug. He pulled back and then turned to the entrance. “Let’s go.”

As the two boys disappeared, Hermione took off running. She headed to Ravenclaw’s wing, hoping against hope to find the Grey Lady.

~…~

Down in the Chamber of Secrets, Draco stood staring at the Basilisk in shock.

“You k-killed that?” Draco stuttered out, his voice shaky, “but, you were only twelve!”

“I know,” Harry grinned briefly as he reached up to pull a fang from the corpse. He walked back over to Draco who pulled the cup from the bag he was wearing.

“Ready?” Harry asked as they knelt over the cup.

“Do it,” Draco nodded.

Harry slammed the fang into the cup and he and Draco jumped to their feet when the black mist erupted. They could see Voldemort’s face in the mist and they stumbled backwards as it seemed to move towards   
them. Water rose up around them and they stumbled back even further but didn’t get too far as the water fell, soaking them through.

“It’s done,” Harry panted out.

Heart beating, Draco grabbed Harry’s arm and turned the brunet to face him. Without saying anything, he pulled him close and pressed his lips against Harry’s in their first kiss.  
Harry was shocked at the kiss and so froze for a few seconds, but he quickly got over it and wound his arms around the taller teen’s neck as he deepened the kiss. They pulled back after a few minutes and grinned at each other. There was so much to say, but they knew, right now wasn’t the time.

“Come on,” Draco said as he took a small step back, “we have to go find Hermione and see if she had any luck with the Grey Lady.”

Harry nodded, though he hadn’t lost his smile, and they two hurried from the Chambers.

~…~

They ran into Hermione as she was leaving the corridors that took you to Ravenclaw’s dorm.

“Did you find her?” Harry asked as he and Draco came a stop in front of her.

“Yes,” Hermione nodded, “and I think I figured out her riddle on where it is.”

“Where?” Draco asked.

“The Room of Requirement,” Hermione said as she turned and headed towards the corridor that would take them to the seventh floor. “Did you guys destroy the cup?”

“We did,” Harry said as he ran down the hall, keeping pace with the two. “Now all that’s left is the diadem and Nagini.”

The three got to the seventh floor and ran as fast as they could to where the room was. They came to a stop in front of the wall and Harry quickly opened it. They headed inside, completely missing seeing three other   
students watching them.

Inside, they quickly moved through all the junk, trying to find where the tiara would be. After searching for fifteen minutes, Harry heard the whispering and came across the diadem in a box.

“Got it!” he called out to Hermione and Draco.

“Good,” Draco said as he and Hermione joined Harry, “now let’s get out of here.”

“Not so fast,” a voice said and three looked up to see Blaise, Crabbe and Goyle standing in front of them with their wands out.

“Malfoy,” Blaise sneered, “you really did turn traitor, didn’t you?”

“I chose the winning side Blaise,” Draco said. 

“The Dark Lord is going to win,” Crabbe said, his voice venomous.

“Not if we have anything to say about it,” Hermione glared at the three boys. 

“Stupefy!” Goyle shouted.

Draco, Harry and Hermione ducked the spell and fired off their own. 

The three Slytherin students turned and ran through the stacks, and the three chased after them. As they were running, pixies distracted Harry and Hermione and they stopped to take care of them while Draco ran ahead. They got rid of the pixies and took off after the blond, but was stopped by said teen running back towards them.

“Draco,” Hermione asked as the blond stopped in front of her and Harry, “what’s wrong?”

“The idiot Goyle cast the Fiendfyre spell,” Draco panted out, “we got to get out of here.”

Harry and Hermione looked up and saw the flames heading towards them and as one, the three of them ran back the way they came. They knocked down stacks and chairs and desks and threw them in the way, but that did nothing. Soon, they found themselves cornered and with no way out.

Draco spotted the brooms first and grabbed one, throwing the other two to Harry and Hermione. “Here! We’ll have to fly our way out!”

Hermione, who hated flying, didn’t even argue as she mounted her broom and took off in the air, Draco and Harry following her. They flew past Blaise and Crabbe and Harry looked back.

“We can’t leave them!” he shouted at the other two.

“Potter!” Draco growled, “if we die saving their lives, I’m going to kill you!”

Still, he turned back with Harry and the two of them soon had Blaise and Crabbe on the back of their brooms.

Hermione cleared a path through the fire straight to the exit and all five of them flew through and landed on the ground with a loud thump. Blaise and Crabbe quickly took off, leaving the other three on the ground.  
The diadem fell from Harry’s pocket and he quickly stood up and kicked it into the fire, watching with deep satisfaction as the black mist rose out of it, the fire completely destroying the diadem and Voldemort’s   
Horcrux.

The three stood there, trying to catch their breaths.

“It’s gone,” Draco said between coughs. “How much left?”

“Just Nagini,” Hermione panted out.

“And then Voldemort himself,” Harry finished.

“Let’s go kill that snake-faced bastard,” Draco said and the three exchanged looks before taking off down the corridor.

**To be continued in** _Savin’ Me ___

**Author's Note:**

> **A/N 2 **: so...what did you guys think? Review and let me know...thanks for reading****
> 
> _Kila ___


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